Remember A Year
by Rabid RENThead
Summary: AngelCollins fluff, kissing, puppies, and maybe God forbid some angst from December 27th to October 31st! Angst to a minimum, fluff to the maximum x3 Some FlawlessRent crossover bits... probably on hiatus for a while so I can work on other things...
1. All You Do is Give

Disclaimer: I do not own Rent, Jonathan Larson, bless his soul, does, and all credit goes to that amazing man :3

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Hello, everyone! This is my first fanfic, so bear with me here. Sorry if it isn't very good x3 This first chapter will be short, but I will do another one soon. Expect a lot of fluff and a bit of angst. My next fanfic, however, if I do one, will not be canon in regards to the Angel dying aspect, so that will be happier Anyway, without further ado…

December 27th

Collins jiggled the key in the lock, then opened the door to his apartment.

"Angel, I'm home! Are you there?" he called out as he set his bag of school stuff down. He looked around nervously, walking to the room that he and Angel shared. "Honey?" Angel's favorite wig, the jet-black bob, was gone, and in its place was a note reading "Went to the Life with Mimi, be back around 6"

The professor looked at the cheap bedside alarm clock. 4:00. He would have time before Angel got back to have an early dinner. Searching through the cupboard, he found a cup of vegetable Top Ramen. He filled it with some water from the sink, then put it in the microwave. While his ramen was heating, he thought about Angel. She was always giving so much to him, and he wanted to give back for once since that Christmas Eve. He wanted to really show his girl that he loved her, that she meant the world to him.

By the time the microwave beeped, Collins had figured out what he would do. He slurped the ramen down quickly, keeping his eye on the clock. 4:05. He could have just enough time if he moved quickly. He had to get the stuff he needed, do some quick talking, and get back in time to surprise his Angel. After tossing the cardboard cup and plastic fork in the trash and leaving a note for Angel that he went shopping in case she came home before him, he slipped out the door and locked it behind him.

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Check back for a very fluffy chapter x3 


	2. Two Best Friends

I do not own Rent, Jonathan Larson, the most brilliant man in the history of the universe, does :3 I also do not own the Life Café (yes, it is a real place, for those of you who don't know)

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Hello, again, Rentheads :3 This is more AngelMimi (as friends, as if they could be anything else) fluff than AngelCollins, but it's happy nonetheless. And there's a surprise at the end, so read on

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December 27th

"Angel baby!"

"Meems! Hi!"

Angel and Mimi shared a huge hug, then did dramatic air kisses on each other's cheeks. Such was the ritual of the two best friends. Then, they would normally link arms, half-dancing half-walking to wherever they were going, in this case, the Life Café, one of their more regular haunts. This they did, belting out songs that popped into their heads at the top of their lungs and drawing stares from the other people on the sidewalk. Once they had finally reached the Life Café, they were rather exhausted, but not so much that they couldn't yell out for wine and beer.

"So, Ang, how are things with Collins?" Angel's response was a dreamy smile and a happy sigh. "That good, huh?"

"He's the man of my dreams! I've never felt this way about anyone before! But he's been a bit sneaky lately; either he's hiding something bad… or planning something really great." Angel assumed the latter. She couldn't help but be a bit suspicious, since her man seemed to be rather popular with the men, but she knew she could trust him.

With a clunk, the waiter set down two bottles of beer and one of wine, as well as some glasses. Angel and Mimi unscrewed the caps on each other's beer, as was tradition, toasted to life, and each took a big swig. Mimi giggled at the line of foam that had stuck to Angel's upper lip, wiping it off with a paper napkin.

After a couple of hours of chatting, giggling, and, most of all, drinking, the girls headed back out, leaving enough money for the bill and a tip on the table. Angel had won quite a bit of money from a talent show, in which she had taken first place, and she had plenty to spare. Linking arms again, they made their way back to their respective homes.

"Hey, honey, I'm back!"

Collins leapt to his feet, hiding something behind him.

"Angel, I have a big surprise for you! I know you're going to love it. So close your eyes…"

Angel giggled from anticipation and lowered her eyelids.

"Okay, now what is it?"

"Just wait."

Suddenly, Angel felt a tongue licking her face. She giggled, "Collins, what are you – oh my goodness!"

Collins had laid a small dog in Angel's arms. She gasped, looking down into its big, brown eyes.

"Oh, Col, you shouldn't have!"

"But I did!"

"He's so cute!" Angel cooed as she stroked the dog's head. He was a little terrier with long, soft light-brown fur. His tongue hung out of his mouth as he panted, wagging his tail like crazy. "What should we name him?" Angel was excited; this was like the baby they could never have.

"How about Angel Jr.?"

"Or Tom Jr." Angel giggled as the dog licked her face again. "I think he needs a more original name. Something with character."

"Well, maybe we should wait til tomorrow, see what his personality is like first."

"Okay, that sounds good."

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Sorry that last bit was so tedious; my brain went blaaaaaaaaaaat. So since I'm out of inspiration, I think I'll leave it up to you. Put your favorite names for the dog in your review, and I'll put them in a poll at the end of the next chapter to vote on. The next chapter will probably be a short filler chapter with a bit of random fluff :3 So don't forget to check back for more fluff! 


	3. Il cane

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent, La Boheme, or Giacomo Puccini, but I do own Giacomo the terrier x3

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Hello again, readers! I know I took a long time on this, but I've been laazyyyy :P I enjoyed writing this little lovey-dovey section at the beginning, so expect more little sweet tidbits. I didn't really get any name suggestions, so I decided to name the dog Giacomo, which I believe is pronounced yah-coh-moh (correct me if I'm wrong), after Giacomo Puccini, composer of La Boheme :3 Oh, and "il cane" is Italian for "the dog"

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December 28th

Angel opened her eyes, not wanting to move from her comfortable spot in Collins' arms. She held in hers the small puppy, as of yet nameless.

"Poor thing, still without a name. We'll have to fix that." She kissed the soft fur on top of its head, smiling. It kissed her back, making her giggle and squirm, which woke Collins. He appeared a bit startled at first, having almost forgotten about the dog in his state of half-consciousness, but then he remembered everything from the night before. He reached across Angel's body to ruffle the dog's fur, his hand straying across his lover's chest in the process. Angel giggled and turned her head to kiss him.

"Now now, honey, not while the dog is watching," Collins scolded her jokingly. Angel gave him a playful smack on the arm before snuggling more into him. Collins wrapped his arms around both Angel and the dog.

"So, have you decided on a name yet?" Angel had been delegated Official Dog Namer last night, and the process had as of yet not come to a finish.

"I've been thinking a bit, and I know the perfect name."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Giacomo."

"Yaka-who?"

"As in Giacomo Puccini. Famous composer of many operas." Collins had figured that the dog would be named after someone he didn't know, but he had never placed Angel as an opera fan.

"You like opera?"

"Well, my Abuelita was a big Puccini fan. My favorite is an opera he wrote called La Boheme. Mostly because one of the main characters is named Mimi."

"She anything like our Mimi?"

"A bit, but she doesn't have Mimi's wild streak." Angel laughed; the two Mimis were as different as night and day, yet they both had their similarities. "Well, little Giacomo, do you like your new home?" Giacomo responded with a wet kiss on each of their laughing noses.

"I think he's going to like it a lot here. He has a beautiful mother…"

"…Not to mention a very sexy father." Collins gave Angel another kiss, laughing.

"You know it!"

"I believe I do." They both giggled, diving into what would have been a rather long make-out session, had Giacomo not crawled over Angel in between them, wagging his tail. He panted loudly, a look appearing in his eyes that screamed "Give me food, I'm adorable!" The lovers couldn't resist The Look, and, sitting up, began to get out of bed.

Angel pulled on her outfit du jour, which consisted of a shoulder-length layered auburn wig accompanied by a maroon tightly-fitting sweater, a short black tiered skirt, red and black-striped tights, and, of course, Angel's signature platform heels. She smoothed down her hair and quickly applied a coat of deep red lipstick. She struck a pose for Collins. "You like?"

"Very much." Collins played with the tiers of Angel's skirt as he kissed her again.

"Slow down there, I just put this outfit on; I don't want to take it off just yet. Besides, we have to feed Giacomo!" She stepped away from Collins, who pouted, crossing his arms.

"But you looked so pretty…" He said childishly. Angel laughed and gave him a quick kiss before turning towards the kitchen.

"Don't be such a baby, Col." Collins' pout grew, but soon turned into a laugh; he just couldn't keep a sad face around his Angel.

"Fine, I'll help you feed him, but then can we…?"

"Collins, we can't spend the whole day in bed! I have to tell Mimi and Maureen; they'll love him! And you haven't seen Roger or Mark since the Life Café!"

Collins poured some kibble into the blue bowl he had bought the day before and sighed. "Fine, fine…"

Angel's face lit up and she kissed him happily. "I can't wait! Meems is gonna FLIP!"

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Yay for fluff! There will be more, since I seem to be good at fluffiness :P I'm also thinking of writing a Rent fic based on my church and my experiences there, especially with a cross dresser, Joan, who is the lay reader :3 My church is very open and affirming, so I was thinking maybe Mimi would have found it and be getting baptized there and drag Angel along and she finds that not all Christians are bigoted assholes :3 Of course, it would be the East Village counterpart :P


	4. I Will Never Leave You

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent or the Life Café.

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Well, I felt like writing a little more fluff, so here's a filler chapter :P Must… write… fluff… twitch Anyway, here 'tis. A bit of back-story between the end of La Vie Boheme and when my story begins. Uber-sweet fluff alert; those allergic to absolute adorable-ness should not read

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December 25th

"Angel, honey? Can you make it home or will I have to carry you?"

"Ican wallk bymyself, sir…" Angel immediately walked from the door of the Life Café straight into a trash can. "Oh, sorrrry ma'am… didn' hic seewhere you was…"

"Angel, I'm going to have to carry you to your house if you don't sober up quick."

"Fine byme, Collernins…" Angel walked towards Collins, banging shoulders with him. Her lover scooped her up rather easily, continuing the walk home. Soon, Angel's drunken stupor turned into full-fledged sleep, a bit of drool wetting Collins' arm. Smiling, he tipped her head to the side a bit, trying to make her more comfortable. She was still beautiful, even when she was stone drunk.

When he reached Angel's apartment, he lay her down on the bed, wondering whether he should change her into her pajamas or just leave her as-is. He decided on the formal, spying a pair of light blue flannel pajamas sticking out of a drawer. Trying to stare as little at Angel's body as he could, he slipped off her clothes and put the pajamas on her. Since she would feel horrible that morning and probably wouldn't mind, he decided to stay the night so he could take care of her in the morning. He put a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin on the side table next to Angel's bed in preparation for the incredible hangover that would most likely plague his love the next morning.

After Collins had settled into bed, his arms around his lover, the shrill sound of Angel's AZT beeper cut through the beautiful silence. Collins sighed, reaching over to turn off the beeper on the table by the bed, and got up. _Why the hell did she make her AZT schedule so fucked up?_ He asked himself, walking to the bathroom for her AZT bottle. Once he had found it, he tried to wake her so she could take it. When all he was met with was grumbling, he pulled Angel up into a sitting position, forcing the pill into her mouth. She woke up enough for Collins to lift her glass of water to her lips, swallow, and fall back onto the pillow, refusing to be woken again. Collins smiled at his drunken diva, kissing the small droplets of water off of her lips. He settled back into bed for the second time that night, wrapping his arms around Angel and kissing the top of her head.

The next morning, Collins woke groggily, a medley of delicious scents tickling his nose. He sat up, wondering what the smell was. He looked to his side, expecting to see Angel still asleep, but found a note saying "Stay right there – breakfast in bed!" Collins was surprised that Angel wasn't suffering from a horrible hangover; from the looks of it, she hadn't even taken any aspirin! Collins sat up, venturing out into the kitchen, where Angel stood by the stove, in her pajamas and an apron, making huevos rancheros. Collins walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he nuzzled her neck.

"Get back to bed, you! I'm paying you back for taking care of me last night, and that is final!"

"Okay, okay… mom!" Angel turned around, waving the spatula at Collins.

"If you don't get back in that bed, mister, I'll…" Collins quieted his Angel with a playful kiss, grabbing the hand that held the spatula.

"I'm going… I bet you just can't wait to have me back in that bed, isn't that right?" Angel gave him a light smack, pointing again back towards her bedroom. As Collins walked back, she gave him a light squeeze on the ass, feigning innocence when he looked back at her. She reverted her attention back to breakfast.

A few minutes later, Angel came in with a tray containing a large bowl of huevos rancheros, two small plates, some mismatched forks and knives, and two glasses of orange juice.

"Eat up. And you better enjoy it!" Angel put the tray down on Collins' lap, tugging off her apron and getting back into bed with Collins. She grabbed a plate, serving herself some huevos rancheros with a large metal spoon sticking out of the bowl. Collins was already digging in, wolfing down the food.

"Believe me, Angel, I am. I didn't know you were such a great cook!"

"Well, you've only known me since yesterday evening, silly!" Collins felt like he had known Angel all of his life, not just for a bit more than half a day. He had never felt this way about anyone before; after all, he had never met anyone else this perfect. A true Angel, his lover had a heart of gold and a soul full of love. And her good looks didn't hurt, either. He felt like he was still in a dream. _If I really am dreaming, I hope I never wake up._

After Collins had eaten his fill, Collins set his plate back on the tray, leaning back with a happy sigh. Angel had already finished, so she took the tray into the kitchen, leaving the dishes to wash later. She hurried back to keep Collins company; she just couldn't stay away from her man!

"So, Angel, what IS your secret for beating what I thought would have been the Ultimate Hangover of Doom?"

"Chocolate. It makes anything better, you know!"

"You truly are a woman, Ang."

"And who said that I wasn't?" Angel mocked offense, pouting. Collins laughed.

"No one ever did, my Angel."

"Good. That means one less ass I have to kick. And I wouldn't want to damage yours; it's a valuable asset."

"Is that true?" Collins jokingly looked over himself at his ass, seeming to be sizing it up. "I suppose it is." He pulled Angel in for a kiss, his hands moving down her back to rest on her ass. "I'm rather fond of yours, too." Angel giggled, running her fingers down Collins' chest. She pulled Collins on top of her, gripping the back of his neck to deepen the kiss. They couldn't get each others' clothes off fast enough.

Quite a while later, Angel was snuggled into Collins' arms again. Her head leaned against his chest, her fingers laced with his. She sighed happily, snuggling in closer to her lover.

"Collins?"

"Yes, love?"

"Promise you'll never leave me."

"Why would I do that, Angel?"

"Well, because I'm…" Before she could say the last word, Collins held a finger to her lips.

"Don't worry, Angel. I will be here for you. Always." Satisfied, Angel closed her eyes, sinking into pleasant dreams. Collins kissed the top of her head softly, tenderly.

"'Till death do we part."


	5. You're Always Welcome at Our House

Disclaimer: I do not own Rent

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Hey, I'm lacking inspiration, but I wanted to get an update up, just to let y'all know I'm still alive :P I'm working on a Rent version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, but I won't be stopping this story. But look forward to fluffy filler chapters that don't move the plot at all :P I have one very M-rated fluffstory that I may publish soon seperately ;3

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"Meems!"

"Oh my god! Angel!"

The routine never got old; they would both scream happily in each other's faces, squeezing each other to death with a bone-crushing hug. But today, something was different.

"Ah! He's so cute!"

"I told Collins you would love him! His name's Giacomo."

Mimi had fallen in love with the little puppy as soon as she saw him. She let Angel and Collins in, offering them a seat on one of Roger and Mark's worn-out leather couches, where Angel had performed just a few days ago. Mimi called Roger in, met with grumbling and finally a tired, pajama-clad Roger. His mood changed when he saw Giacomo, however. He rushed over, cooing over the puppy just as Mimi was doing.

The cooing and nuzzling continued for quite a while, until Angel and Collins decided they had to leave. They had a Life Support meeting to go to. Angel picked up Giacomo, giving Mimi and Roger a little pinky wave. Collins wrapped an arm around Angel's waist, keeping her moving out the door of the loft.

On the street again, Angel, Collins, and Giacomo made up for their lack of coats by sharing body heat. As they walked, Collins kept his arms wrapped around his Angel, who held Giacomo tightly in hers. Like this, tightly knit, they made their way to the community center where the Life Support meetings were held.


	6. MAJOR PWNAGE

Disclaimer: I do not own Rent

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This chapter will be short and not too fluffy, but whatever.

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After their Life Support meeting, Collins and Angel, their fingers laced together, walked out onto the street, giddy from the feeling of being in love. As they walked, Angel reached over, pulling Collins' face towards her and giving him a soft, playful kiss. These kisses always seemed to have the power to draw stares, and today was no exception. Dark voices hissed "fags" as they walked down the street, but they were blissfully ignorant. Words had no meaning to people who were truly in love. They just kept walking, their force-field of happiness knocking away stares and insults and people crossing themselves against these "abominations." But it wasn't until someone really invaded their presence that they were brought back down to Earth. A Bible was shoved into their faces by an elderly woman in black.

"Excuse me, have you ever read the Bible?"

"Yes," Collins replied, "For a Religious Philosophy course. May I ask why?"

The woman flipped the book open to a page she had marked with a cross on a chain.

"Leviticus 18:22. Read and be saved, sinners!"

"What? Excuse me, but I don't see what the problem is."

"It says in the Bible that homosexuality is an abomination unto God. You are sinners, the both of you!"

"Give me that," Angel replied, flipping through the book of Leviticus. "Ah, here it is. Can I ask you a question, ma'am?"

"What?"

"Have you sacrificed pigeons yet this month?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ew! Get away from me, you unclean abomination! Damn, I'll be unclean all day too!" Angel tossed the Bible at the woman, laughing, keeping the page open to Leviticus 15:29.

She and Collins shared a long kiss in front of the shocked woman, then walked off.

"Angel," Collins remarked, "You are an amazing woman."

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Psh fundie got PWNED! I love showing homophobes how they don't follow the Bible, either, especially when the rule is only 3 chapters before it. Anyway, the next chapter will probably actually move the plot and have some fluff :3 I'm also working on a Renty version of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Note: I know that not all Christians are like this. Most of us are nice This is mainly directed at the fundamentalists and "literalists." An example of awesome Christians:


	7. Sunday in the Park with Angel

Disclaimer: I do not own Rent

Hello, again! I know I haven't written in a long time, but I was kinda in a MarkRoger mood x3 This will just be some cute fluff to get me back in my groove

Angel tugged on Giacomo's leash, trying to get him to stand up after he sat heavily, refusing to move. "Dammit, Giacomo, you're not cute at all when you're stubborn! Get moving right now!" After more and more urging and coaxing proved futile, she gave up, scooping Giacomo up in her arms. Instantly, his face brightened and his tail whipped back and forth. "So that's how this game goes, huh?" Angel ruffled his fur, moving her chin out of the reach of the puppy's tongue. "Make-up isn't good to lick, honey…"

Collins laughed as he wrapped his arm around Angel's waist, stepping in the same rhythm as she did. All three of them blended their motions together, Angel's platform heels hitting the ground at the same time as Collins' faded sneakers, Giacomo's pants in rhythm with Collins' laugh. They walked like this happily, passing shops and street vendors. Angel pointed out a park where they could let Giacomo play, grabbing Collins hand and speeding into a run. Collins was half-dragged to the unseasonably green tree-covered area, where they unclipped the puppy's leash and set him down. Angel and Collins sat down in the shade of a tree, Angel's head resting against her lover's chest. They watched Giacomo romp around, chasing shadows, leaves, and anything else that caught his eye.

Angel got up to go play with Giacomo, chasing him around, trying to grab him. Collins followed after watching them for a while, but trying to grab Angel instead. Finally he succeeded, knocking them both, giggling like hyenas, onto the grass. Giacomo ran around them in circles, his tail never stopping its wagging, as they rolled over, trying to pin each other to the ground. Finally, they lay side by side with Giacomo lying half on Angel's chest, half on Collins'. They stroked his fur, smiling and sharing a small kiss whenever their hands touched.

Finally, the dampness of the grass began to seep through their clothes, making them cold, and they reluctantly rose to their feet, brushing the grass off of each other's backs and hair. Collins draped his coat around both of them, holding the puppy close, and they made their way home.

Wow, that was short. Oh well, it was cute


	8. It's a Small World After All

Disclaimer: I do not own Rent or the characters from Flawless

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I'm sorry to not have updated much, but finals and blahblah and now my brain is finally getting back into gear. And I'm sorry, Katy, for not updating your story, but I tried the email and pass you told me a million times and even tried different ones and still couldn't get it to work, and you never called : ( Well, there's still hope, since you aren't back yet. Anyway, on with the show!

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Angel and Collins finally, after many distractions along the way, pushed open the door to their apartment. Collins immediately collapsed onto the couch, which all but collapsed in turn beneath him. He reached for the handy bottle of aspirin that was on the little TV tray next to the couch. After wondering for a moment who had put the medicine and the little cup of water there, he opted to swallow two pills dry.

Angel, after hanging Giacomo's leash on the plastic hook taped to the door and filling the blue bowl with more kibble, retreated to the bedroom to get more clothes and then down the stairs to the "community laundry room." However, her usual washing machine was already being used by a heavy-set woman wearing a loose-fitting purple sweater and khaki slacks. Her short hair was held back by a white headband.

"Oh my god! Rusty!" Angel squealed, catapulting herself at the woman, who, upon looking closer, was actually a post-op drag queen. "You look GREAT!" Laughing Rusty, squeezed Angel into a bear hug.

"Still as little as ever, I see! You're still as thin as Cha-Cha!" Setting Angel down, she leaned back against the washing machine. "And I feel great too, after the operation. I'm really a woman now. It's wonderful! So, how are you doing? Still single? I'm surprised a pretty little thing like you never picked up a man in those years before I left!"

"Well, actually, I did kinda meet someone…" Angel looked longingly up the stairs. "He's right up there, if you want to meet him…"

"Ooh, a live-in? My my, Miss Angel, you sure _have_ changed! I would be honored to meet someone my Angel found worthy. I just need to finish this load of clothes real quick, then we'll be on our way."

"Okay, I need to get the grass stains off this outfit. Maroon and green are definitely not a match made in heaven."

"Having a little fun at the park, were you?" Rusty winked at her.

A little while later, both loads of clothes were done, and Angel was ready to go, eager to get back to Collins and Giacomo. They linked arms and, belting out a showtune, they made their way up the stairs. They hadn't gone very far before a vision in pink came sliding out of control down the stairs on roller-blades. Rusty and Angel caught her and lifted her up onto the landing.

"Cha-cha! Oh my god, it's like a family reunion!"

"Angel-chica!" Cha-Cha squealed. She was a Latina drag queen with the same caramel skin as Angel's and a very similar upturned nose. Her short bleach-blonde hair was brought back into a pink paisley bandana tied around her head. She wore a purple fuzzy half-jacket over a gray-and-pink halter top and a shiny pink snake-skin skirt. Her feet were clothed in lavender tights and a pair of chunky black roller-blades, which wobbled beneath her. "Oh my god! It's been forever! And Rusty!" She all but jumped into the bigger girl's arms. She was obviously still the same loud, borderline-obnoxious drag queen she had been years ago.

"Guess what, Cha-Cha?" Rusty held up her hand to fake a whisper "Angel-baby's got a man!" The Latina squealed, jumping up and down and clapping, and almost fell over again.

"Ooh, is he cute?"

"Hands OFF, Cha-Cha!" Angel declared loudly. "And yes, very very VERY cute." She smiled and waggled her eyebrows. "But enough talk, I need you guys to meet him!" She dragged her friends up the stairs towards her apartment, then motioned for them to wait silently. "I might want to warn him first." She slid open the apartment door, then shut it quickly, hiding her friends from view. After laying out her clothes on a chair so that they wouldn't wrinkle, she sat lightly on the couch next to where Collins was laying. She gave him a soft kiss to wake him up, and when his eyes opened groggily, she whispered, "Hey, Col, I've got some girlfriends who want to meet you."

"Mmmokaywhateveryeahsure," he mumbled, then curled back up again, squeezing his eyes closed.

Angel slipped back outside again, then slid the door open wide for Rusty and Cha-Cha to come in. "Girls, this is Collins!" It was then that she realized he had stripped down to nothing before sleeping on the couch, and now that he had gotten up, not even the blanket was covering him. "Ack! Collins! Get some clothes on!"

Cha-Cha giggled, looking him over. "You weren't kidding, Ang, he's HOT!"

"Gyaa! Cha-Cha! Eyes off! Collins! Go get clothes!" Angel shoved the still half-conscious philosopher into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Rusty and Cha-Cha were still laughing, exchanging rather lewd comments.

"Does he walk around like that all the time, Angel?" Rusty asked. "In that case, I'm going to have to come back more often."

"Argh! Shut up, both of you!" Angel stormed into the bedroom, dragging out a now fully-clothed yet still half-asleep Collins. "Collins, this is Rusty" Rusty waved, grinning, "And this is…"

"Cha-Cha de los Santos Perez Cueva. But you can call me Cha-Cha." She wrinkled her nose as she grinned a toothy grin, shaking his hand for quite a bit longer than needed.

"Uh, pleased to meet you, Cha-Cha…" Collins was surprised at how similar Cha-Cha and Angel looked; if it weren't for Cha-Cha's lack of wig, he might have had trouble telling the two apart. He wouldn't tell Angel that, of course. Angel gripped Collins' waist, pulling him back towards her into a quick kiss to demonstrate that he was hers.

"Remember, Cha-Cha, I said hands OFF. Does that pizza guy still work here?"

"But of course, Angel-chica. Why else would I have stayed in this rathole so long? May I dare to say I do business with him quite frequently." Cha-Cha wiggled her eyebrows, a dirty look on her face.

"So, did Ivana ever recover from the cufflink incident?"

"Well, she had a scar, but she got an operation anyway, so they got rid of that as well."

"She did? I'm so proud of her!"

"Yeah, I dropped out of the Miss Flawless contest for a year to let her get the prize money, but it was worth it for my Ivana-chica." Cha-Cha smiled.

"Well, Rusty," Angel remarked, "You're not being very talkative."

"It's hard to be with Cha-Cha in the room."

"Alright, I'll give you that, but you're not even trying. What gives? And why do you keep smiling?" Rusty held out her left hand, showing off the diamond that glistened on her ring finger. "Oh my god! Rusty, why didn't you tell me sooner? Who's the lucky man?"

"His name's Luciano. He's Italian." Angel and Cha-Cha let out a combined "Oooh." "We've been together since Christmas."

"That's when I met Collins, isn't that right, Col?" Angel turned to wrap her arm around her lover, but found him on the couch again, sleeping. "Oh well, let him be a lazy, antisocial couch potato. He's a cute couch potato, and he's my couch potato." She smiled, resting on the back of the couch, reaching an arm over to stroke his cheek. "So, Cha-Cha, you seem to be the only one without a man."

"Ang, every man is my man!"

"I guess you're right, chica, you seem to work your charm on every men. But you just can't seem to choose."

"Nothing wrong with that, Angel-chica. It's fun to still be on the market."

Giacomo wandered in from his comfortable spot on the bed in the bedroom, and Angel jumped when he pressed his cold nose against her ankle.

"Oh my god, Angel!" Cha-Cha squealed. "You didn't tell us you got a puppy!" She scooped him up, looking him in the eye. "He's a cutie!" She let him lick her face, squeaking the whole time. "What's his name?"

"Giacomo."

"Yaka-who?"

Angel sighed and explained for the second time that day.

The girls talked long into the night, sharing stories about the men they had met and Cha-Cha's escapades with the pizza guy and reminiscing about the "good old days." By morning, all but Angel and Collins had left, and Angel tangled herself into Collins' arms on the couch.

* * *

That was fun to write x3 Anyway, I just watched Flawless, so I figured I'd work my favorite girls into the plot somehow. Expect them to antagonize Collins on and off throughout the year. Oh, and since Katy has Juice Fairies, I gave Angel and Collins Medical Supplies Fairies. Phun x3


	9. Surprise, Surprise!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rent

* * *

Okay, so Ducky was like I sign off now but I was bored so I made her stay by promising to update. Bwahaha, I am so manipulative, uahaha, etc, etc. So here ya go :D

* * *

"Ugghhhh, oh fuck…" Collins' head felt like it was being cracked open with a blunt axe. He had barely been able to sleep on the couch because of the chatter all night, and had fallen asleep with his neck in a very uncomfortable position. And to top it off, the sun was shining brightly right in his eyes. The only comforting thing was the fact that Angel wastucked between his arms. He reached towards the TV tray to find 2 pills already laid out in the tray, and no glass of water this time. He supposed Angel must have put them there. He swallowed them and curled back up, waiting for the medicine to kick in. He nuzzled Angel's neck, pulling her closer, and tried to fall back asleep.

* * *

Angel woke to the comforting feeling of Collins nuzzling her neck. She reached her arm back and up to stroke his cheek, and he sighed. She smiled, but decided not to make him get up quite yet, since he was probably tired from being kept up all night by her loud friends. She gently moved his arm off of her and stood up, stroking his hair before she made her way to the stove to make some tea, jasmine for her and green for Collins. She added three sugar cubes two hers and only one to Collins' (he liked his tea rather bitter) and took both mugs over to the tea tray, moving aside a mysterious bottle of aspirin first. She wondered where it had come from. She sat down near Collins' chest and started kissing him, wanting to wake him gently. He moaned and stirred, finally opening his eyes. She pulled away and grinned, holding up the mug for him. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!"

"Mmm, woken by a kiss from a beautiful princess…" Collins took the mug from the tray, taking a deep sip. "Ahh, just the way I like it." He smiled, lacing the fingers of one hand through Angel's as he drank more. When they were both finished, Angel took the mugs to the sink, then lay down next to her lover again.

"So, Collins, what's the plan today? Hang out with Mimi and company? Go see Cha-Cha and Rusty again?" Collins groaned at both options. "Well, we could just stay here and have some fun of our own…" She traced a finger lightly over his chest, pulling him in for another kiss. It was then that she realized that she had forgotten to take off her wig before sleeping and that she still hadn't fed Giacomo. "Shit!" Her wig was probably all messed up now. She pulled it off to assess the damage. It did not look pretty. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"What is it, honey?"

"My wig! Oh, shit!" She raced into her bedroom, grabbing the comb on the vanity and pinning the wig to its foam head. She tried to run the comb through the tangled mess, but to no avail. "Ughhhh… fuck!" She tossed the comb to the floor. "It's hopeless! My favorite wig, ruined." Collins wlaked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder gently, afraid to make sudden movements. It was then that he remembered the website he had looked at for a wig to give Angel as a present. It had a segment on straightening wigs!

"Angel, I have to go to the library, okay?"

"Okay." She stalked to the bathroom to soak away her worries. Collins grabbed the wig and headed out the door.

* * *

It was pretty easy to find the website again and print out the instructions on the library printer. "Don't use a straightening iron." Good, Angel didn't have one. He assumed that was because, well, you weren't supposed to use one on wigs. "Pin the wig to your foam head." He assumed that was the thingy he had unpinned it from. Easy enough. He should go do that now, but first, he needed to get Angel out of the house. Getting Mimi to invite her over would be easy enough. He headed in the direction of Roger's loft.

* * *

He let himself in, figuring Mimi and Roger wouldn't be up to anything at this time of day; Roger would be sleeping and Mimi would be cooking. He was right, judging by the smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen. He walked over to Mimi, who was humming and making a pancake on the hotplate, and tapped her on the shoulder. "G'morning, Roger…" she said as she turned around. "Oh, it's you, Collins. When did you come in?"

"Just a few seconds ago. Anyway, can you get Angel out of the house for a while? I need to do a favor for her." He held up the mass of tangled black "hair."

"Oh, that's not good. But of course I can get her out." She picked up the phone, dialing Angel's number. "Angel-chica! Oh, that's horrible! Yes, that wig was gorgeous. That's too bad. Anyway, do you wanna come to the Life with me and Roger? No, no, we'll treat this time. No, don't bring money, chica, this is my gift to you. Okay, see you there." She set down the phone. "She'll be there in a few minutes. Do you have anything you need to buy? Cause you shouldn't go back quite yet, you might run into her."

"Yeah, I need to get…" Collins looked down at the instructions. "A 2-liter bottle, a meat thermometer, and conditioner." He looked back up o find Mimi with a very puzzled look on her face. "Don't ask."

"Well, you go do that, and hurry!"

"Yes, ma'am." Collins made his way back out the door and headed down to the grocery store."

"Mimi? Who was that?" Roger's voice called groggily.

"Collins. He needed to get Angel out of the house so he could straighten her hair. We're going to the Life."

"Uh… okay. Yeah, that makes sense…" It didn't at all, but he didn't really need an explanation.

* * *

After getting the right supplies, Collins finally got back home, and headed into Angel's bedroom to get the foam head and pins. He pinned through the squares of mesh where four dents had been made already from previous pinnings, then carried the foam head and the rest of the stuff into the bathroom. After emptying the bottle of soda into the only vessel on hand, a Tupperware container, he filled it halfway with water, just as the directions said, and set the foam head on top of it. After heating a bottle of water to near boiling temperature, he squirted conditioner onto the wig and poured the water slowly over the wig, soaking it in warm water. As he poured, he gently pulled the comb through the troublesome parts of the wig. When it was totally straight, he left it alone to dry.

* * *

When Angel got home, she immediately collapsed onto the couch, still teary-eyed. Collins rushed over to comfort her, holding her close and kissing her temple. "Honey, I've got a surprise for you. It's in the bathroom." Holding her hand, he led her over to the bathtub and lifted the now totally straight wig off of the foam head.

"Oh my god, Collins, you got me a new wig?"

"No, I actually straightened it. All by myself."

"Really? Oh my god, honey, you didn't have to do this for me." She pulled the wig on happily, a grin spreading from ear to ear. She spun around in front of the mirror. "It's hard to believe it's the same wig, now. It's really straight."

Collins fingered the ends of the wig, which normally curled inward but now came straight down to mid-neck. "Well, it's different, but you still look gorgeous, my Angel." He gathered her in his arms, pulling her into a long kiss. She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. She didn't know what she had done to deserve such a wonderful man, but she had to have done something really great.

* * *

More cute AngelCollins fluff! Wheee! These stories just write themselves; I had no clue what my plot would be. I guess this will be a one-chapter day, which is quite a contrast to my last day, which took 5 chapters. I got the wig-straightening instructions at Katie Bair's Petting Zoo Wigs. 


	10. There Is No Spoon

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent, yadda yadda yadda

* * *

AN: I'm sorry I haven't updated, but I've been putting up updates for Nobody Knows, a story written by Katy (QuixoticLover) that you should definitely go read now! And review, too! Okay, yeah, the updates were pre-written, but I needed an excuse. And Ducky's away, so she can't nag me to update. And a Rent RP I'm taking over the part of Maureen for Ducky for is sapping my writing mood and my muse :P But don't you worry, Katy will be back on Friday and Ducky should be back soon after, so I'll update lots : D And I transferred some characters from But I Die Without You, since they don't exist in that story yet… sorry for being a poopy idea-moocher, Kateh :P But I only slightly mooched the idea! I made it my own! And sorry, readers, for making this uber-weird :P

* * *

Angel woke up to the sound of her beeper. 11:00 already? Why had she slept in? She swallowed her AZT pill dry. Oh. Now she remembered staying up late with Collins. They had watched a few sappy chick flicks while Angel gorged herself on a mysterious box of chocolate; she had refused to stop trying every chocolate until she found the Roman nougat, her favorite. Collins had been left with all the dark chocolate, which he whined about incessantly until Angel figured out a different use for said dark chocolate. One thing had led to another, and they had ended up finally falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms at 5 am. After stroking Collins' hair and giving him a peck on the forehead, Angel swung her legs out of the bed and into her blue fuzzy slippers. She was about to walk out into the main room when she realized two things: one, she was still naked, and two, there were people talking. She tugged a green bathrobe out of her closet and pulled it on, then pressed her ear to the door.

"Meepa, there's no way they'd be up already. You heard them when we tried to drop the medicine off last night. I bet they were up 'til 5, and they're sleeping like logs."

"She's right, Katy, they're probably still wrapped in each other's arms, dreaming of rainbows and unicorns and yadda yadda yadda."

"But what sane person sleeps in past 10?"

"I do!"

"Well you don't count, cause you're not sane!"

"Neither are you!"

"Stop bickering, you two, you sound like an old married couple!"

"Your MOM sounds like an old married couple!" Two people giggled. One sighed, totally exasperated.

"You guys, we better just get in and get out before we wake them up!"

"Oh please, no one gets woken up by people talking!"

"Psshh, maybe YOU don't, Miranda. You could sleep through the end of the world!"

"Well, logically speaking, the end of the world would probably be pretty quiet."

"You and your logic."

Angel was getting bored of this endless chatter and decided to open the door, after grabbing her pickle tub to defend herself with. "Who are you and why are you in my house?" she shouted, trying to sound intimidating. It obviously didn't work. The girls stood there with amazed looks on their faces. Finally, one girl, who was tall, blonde, and wearing a hat that had ears and eyes on it, managed to squeal and run at her, knocking her over when she jumped on her. "Aah! Get off me! I don't have any money!" The only response Angel got was more squealing as the other two girls tried to pull their friend off of the terrified object of their obsession. After a short struggle, the girls stood up, still grinning.

"I guess we should have explained right when you opened the door," a short, brown-haired, bespectacled girl said calmly. "I'm Miranda, the logic and medical supply fairy, this," she pointed to the girl who had glomped Angel, "Is Katy, the chocolate and hyperness fairy, and this," she gestured towards a very nervous red-head, "Is Ducky, the beverage and bisexuality fairy."

"Wait, what…?" Angel was confused. "So you're… fairies?"

"Well, not really," Ducky explained. "We just sneak into your house and leave you medicine, chocolate, and various beverages. Fairies just sound more harmless than stalkers."

"Oh. Okay." Angel head was still spinning. "So… why us?"

"Well, who else!" Katy exclaimed loudly. "You're only THE cutest couple EVER!"

"Um, I guess I'm flattered… AAH!" Angel jumped as a hand reached out of the doorway to hold onto her shoulder.

"Ang," Collins mumbled, "Coffeewherecaffeineneed?"

"Collins! Stop walking around naked when I have guests! Argh!" All three girls were giggling incessantly by the time Angel shut the door on her naked boyfriend. "Sorry about that… what were you saying?"

"Well, we were about to tell you not to let anyone know about us," Ducky stated. "We really shouldn't exist in this universe; we're from one where none of you exist."

"Well, then how did you find out about us?"

"Ever wonder what makes a TV or a movie work?" Miranda asked. "They're one-way portals into different times or different universes. They're kinda like one-way mirrors; we can see you and watch you, but you can't see us. Every TV show or movie you watch is actually you looking into another universe."

"Wait… you can see us all the time? Can people see us… at night? What about when we go to the bathroom?" Angel was rather frightened; she didn't like the idea of people looking in on her and Collins.

"Of course not, silly!" Katy all-but-shouted. "We can only see the important stuff, like when you met Collins and the party at the café and when you –" Miranda clamped a hand over Katy's mouth

"Shhh, they don't know about that yet! We can't mess with this universe!"

"What? What happens?"

"Ugh, we wish we could tell you and prevent it," Ducky sighed, "But we can't. That would be meddling, and that's what the professor said not to do."

"What professor? What the heck is going on?"

"Letting you remember this would be meddling too," Miranda said, "Although we would love to be friends with you. But we have to do this." She grabbed a square with lots of buttons on it from her pocket and pointed it at Angel.

"Bye!" the three girls said in chorus as Miranda pushed the button.

* * *

Angel woke up to the sound of her beeper. 11:00 already? Why had she slept in? She swallowed her AZT pill dry. Oh. Now she remembered staying up late with Collins. They had watched a few sappy chick flicks while Angel gorged herself on a mysterious box of chocolate; she had refused to stop trying every chocolate until she found the Roman nougat, her favorite. Collins had been left with all the dark chocolate, which he whined about incessantly until Angel figured out a different use for said dark chocolate. One thing had led to another, and they had ended up finally falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms at 5 am. After stroking Collins' hair and giving him a peck on the forehead, Angel swung her legs out of the bed and into her blue fuzzy slippers. Another day stretched out ahead of her, and she wanted to not waste it. She stood up. Oh great, still sore. She sat back down, pulled her feet out of her slippers and laid back down, her head on Collins' chest, trying to match his breaths with hers. Well, sleeping the day away wasn't that bad, especially when she was snuggled in bed with Collins. They could sleep for an hour or two more. 


	11. I Like Fishies!

Disclaimer: In the beginning, there was Jonathan Larson. And he said, "Let there be Rent!" And there was Rent. And Jonathan looked upon it and said "It is good." And so, Miranda does not own Rent.

* * *

AN: Katy said to tell you that she is dancing with a scarf. It is a rather frightening sight. Now she is attempting to sing Tango: Maureen and be Mark. Once again, frightening sight. Please excuse my writing if I become traumatized. She is laughing rather loudly, because I am reading aloud as I type. I love laptops. Now she is dancing around saying "Lappyyyy!" She fell over. I should help her up, but this is amusing. Now she is telling me to "Write, dammit!" So I will. "And it was good. RAWR. Scarfy." In hindsight, this is what Katy calls my crack!chapter. It's 1:19 am. 'Nuff said. Be grateful that it isn't 4 am or something.

* * *

Collins talked in his sleep. Not always, but when he was dreaming of Angel, he talked. He would murmur softly and hold Angel close and sometimes give her a kiss, although he often missed her mouth and kissed her eye or her chin. Normally Angel was asleep when this was happening, so when Collins pulled her over and kissed the back of her head, she was rather confused. And then he tried to give her tongue.

"Collins! Why are you licking my head?" she yelled.

"Mrfl…" he muttered "Youtastelikeshampoo…"

Angel turned around to face her still-sleeping lover and tried to shake him awake. "Collins, honey, wake up! Wake up!" His eyelids fluttered open and he pulled his tongue back into his mouth.

"What was I doing? And why do I have hair in my mouth?" He rubbed at his tongue, trying to get the hair off. "Angel, what the heck is going on?"

"Well, um, you started trying to… french kiss my head."

"What? Well, I WAS having a dream about you, but… that's bizarre."

"A lot of people talk or do things in their sleep that they're doing in their dreams."

"Hmm. That's weird. Hey… what time is it?" He lifted himself up on his elbow to look across Angel at the little clock on their makeshift table. "2:00?" he cried as he tugged away the covers. "Why did you let me sleep?"

"Well, we WERE up til 5 am last night."

"Heh, yeah…" Collins chuckled, remembering their escapades involving a myterious chocolate box.

"Honey, you've got some chocolate…" Angel rubbed at a spot of dried chocolate still left on Collins' chest. Collins laughed and rolled over to get out of bed. Angel pulled him back for a kiss. "Baby, do we HAVE to get out of bed yet?"

Collins pulled himself back to the edge of the bed. "Ang, honey, it's 2:00!" Angel pouted. Her pout usually worked its charm on Collins, but not this time. "Angie, don't try that on me. It's 2:00."

"Ugh, fine." They both stepped into their slippers. "I'm still sore, and it's all your fault." She crossed her arms, pouting again.

"You didn't seem to mind much last night."

"Fine. I have no reason to be mad at you. Happy?"

"I'm always happy around you; you should know that. Now let's get some clothes on before Mark or Roger or someone decides to stop by."

"I think someone visited earlier… wait, no… that must have been a dream." Angel looked confused for a moment, then regained her thought process to yell "I claim the shower!" as she ran for the bathroom. Collins followed after, always the voice of logic.

"We can just share, you know."

"True, but how do you know we won't get… distracted?"

"Angel, you just said yourself that you're still sore."

"Fine. I guess we can keep our hands off each other for a few minutes." Magically, they managed to wash off and get dressed without getting side-tracked. Just in time, as predicted. Roger knocked on the door.

"Hey, guys, is it safe to come in?" Roger yelled through the rather thin door.

"Roger, it's the middle of the afternoon."

"Well, you never know." Roger opened the door and flopped onto the couch. "So, what are we doing?"

"I dunno, you just randomly came in, and we just woke up. It's not like we've been thinking this whole time, 'Now, where are we going to go with Roger today?'"

"Heh, another late night?" Roger joked, wiggling his eyebrows. Angel smacked him.

"Roger, our sex lives are none of your business."

"Everyone knows you guys are like rabbits." This prompted another smack from Angel. "You know it's true!"

"Roger," Collins said gently, "There's this thing called tact. It's a very good quality to have."

"Tact?" Roger questioned. "I don't think I want to know what that is." Collins sighed.

"Do you have a one-track mind or something?"

"Yeah, most of the time," Roger stated. "Got a problem?" More exasperated sighs followed. "So, where are we going? The Life?"

"Well, that's pretty much where we always go," Collins said rather glumly, sinking into an armchair. Angel perched herself in his lap.

"Why don't we go somewhere else, honey?" Angel asked. "We could do with a change every now and then."

"Hmmm…" Roger mused. "You got an idea, Angel?"

"Um… how about the aquarium?"

"The _aquarium?_" Roger said. "That's all you can think of?"

"Well, why not? I like fishies!" Angel said. "What do you think, Collins?" She smiled at him, shifting a little in his lap. Collins laughed.

"You know I can't say no to that face."

"The aquarium it is, then!" Angel squealed, leaping to her feet. "But first I have to change." She was wearing just a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, and didn't want to go out in public not looking like herself. Roger sighed.

"I'll be back in five hours… think she'll be ready by then?"

"Roger Davis, you stop making fun of me!"

"Or what, you'll throw a pair of tights at me?"

"Argh!" Angel retreated into her room to pick out her outfit.

"Roger, can you go for even 10 minutes without being a total ass?"

"What? Of course I can!"

"Fine. I'll dare you. If for the whole time at the aquarium you don't make any rude comments, I won't lock you in a room with Maureen for the rest of the day."

"Deal."

"What did you make a deal about?" Angel had gotten ready in record time to prove Roger wrong.

"I bet Roger five bucks that when you came out of that room you would look gorgeous. Now pay up, Rog." Collins wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her a gentle peck on the lips. "Let's go before Roger decides he needs to fix his hair. _That _would take five hours."

"What? Well, you…" Roger remembered the deal and bit his tongue.

"What was that you were saying, Roger?" Collins asked slyly.

"Nothing…" Roger mumbled.

"I thought so."

The three headed out the door to the aquarium.


	12. A World of Pure Imagination

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I don't own, you know the drill

* * *

AN: I'm still at Katy's house, and I decided to write another chapter. Note that I got about 2 ½ hours of sleep, thanks to a bad tamale. Katy says to tell you she is still Mark.

* * *

"Collins… I don't think I can do this." 

"Rog, you're doing fine."

"That's because I haven't talked for the past 15 minutes!"

"And that," Collins expained, "Is tact."

"Wait, so tact is being a mime?"

Collins sighed. "Of course, Roger," he said sarcastically. "Now go get yourself some white face-paint and a striped shirt." Roger began to head out the door. "I was joking, dammit!" he yelled, pulling him back. "How dense can you get? Oh, hey there, honey."

"Collins, come look!" Angel squealed dragging Collins by the arm. "See those fishies?" A caramel-colored fish and a large dark brown fish were swimming side by side.

"What am I looking at?"

"It's us, silly! Oh, and look, that piece of mold looks like Roger!"

"Um… of course it does, Angel." There was no doubt that Angel had a strange imagination.

"Oh no, you squished Roger!"

"Collins, stop eating my head!"

"Sorry, Roger. Hey, Angel's doing it too!"

"What? Well, maybe that's not Roger. Maybe it's Benny or something."

"Okay, we'll go with that. Gives a new meaning to 'yuppie scum.'"

"So who's Roger?"

"Well, there's a fish over there that's humping a rock. I think that's him."

"And the rock is a groupie?"

"No, it's Mimi."

"Oh. And what about Mark and Maureen and Joanne?"

"Maureen and Joanne are the fish over there that keep biting each other."

"I see. Well, which one is Mark?"

"See that little guppy over there?"

"Yeah?"

"That's him."

"Aww, that one's all alone."

"Well, yeah, it's Mark."

"I see."

"Aww, look, Collins is kissing me!"

"Ang, I don't think fish can kiss…"

"Of course they can. What do you think they're doing?"

"You and your imagination…"

"Think they're telling us something?" Angel asked, then gave Collins a kiss.

"They don't have to tell me to do that," Collins replied, following suit.

"Uggghhhh, enough of this fluffy crap! Don't you two ever take your hands off of each other?" Roger shouted. "I can't TAKE IT anymore! Argh!" He ran away down the street.

"Um… okay… that was interesting."

"Collins, you scared Roger away!" Angel smacked him lightly.

"You know you wanted him out of here," Collins retorted. Angel pouted. "Fine, I'll apologize later."

"Let's go look at the seahorses!" Once again Collins was dragged along.

"How much coffee did you have this morning?"

"None, silly! I'm just high on life!"

"Well, at least I can't say that I have a boring girlfriend."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment."

"I think it is," Collins said gently, pulling Angel in for another kiss.

"Ooh look, the seahorse is winking at us!"

"Of course it is, Angel." Angel never lacked imagination, and Collins liked it that way. He wouldn't change her for the world.


	13. I Wanna Go Home

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent

* * *

AN: Well, I didn't know what to do with this chapter, but I knew if I didn't write something to get them home again, they would end up stuck there until I got in idea and y'all would get mad at me. So this may be a pile of crap, but whatever.

* * *

After looking at the seahorses and some other fish, Angel and Collins decided to head back home. On the way, Angel got an idea.

"Hey, Collins?" she asked

"Yeah?"

"You think Roger's okay?"

"I think so… he was just having a fluff overload with no way to vent."

"And why wasn't he talking until then?"

"Well, I told him not to make any rude comments or I would lock him in a room with Maureen all day. So I guess he couldn't think of anything to say that _wasn't_ rude."

"Hmmm. Think we should go visit him?"

"Nahh"

"Well… okay. I'd rather get home and spend some time with you, anyway." After this conversation, they had made their way home and both flopped onto the couch. Angel had perched herself on top of Collins and was leaning down to kiss him when Giacomo ran up to the couch and jumped onto Collins' chest. Angel laughed and scratched his ears. "You're a little attention whore, aren't you?" Giacomo barked in response, and Angel ruffled his fur. She looked at the clock. It was 3:30. "You up for a late lunch?"

"What are you making?" Collins asked.

"Not you, silly, the dog. C'mon, Giacomo!" Angel went into the kitchen to pour Giacomo some food.

"Hey!" Collins shouted. "What about me?"

* * *

Um yeah, short and crappy, but now they can go eat or be fluffy or something when I have more inspiration 


	14. Green, Green Dress

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent

* * *

AN: I decided to start giving my chapters titles. And if you know which chapter titles are song references and which songs they reference and what this chapter references a LOT, you get a lifetime supply of cookies :)

* * *

"Angeeeeel," Collins whined loudly, "I'm hungryyyyyyyyy!"

"Stop whining and let me finish feeding Giacomo!"

"Giacomo schmacomo, let's go eat somewhere!"

"Patience is a virtue, Collins!"

"Fine." Collins sulked on the couch and pouted until Angel skipped in from the kitchen and sat on his lap.

"Collins, let's go somewhere to eat!"

Collins looked to the side with a pout. "Hmph. NOW you want to."

"Come on, Tommy…" Collins kept pouting. Angel turned sideways to straddle Collins' legs and she moved her lips just inches away from his ear, purring, "I'll reward you when we get back…" Collins reached to kiss her, but she stood quickly off his lap. "Not until you go to dinner with me!"

"Fine. So… where do you want to go? The Life Café?"

"You go there all the time! You need to branch out more!"

"Well, then… hmmm… ooh, I know. You go put on a dress. A nice one. I need to change, too."

Collins grabbed the 3-piece suit that he had bought who-knows-how-long ago and the phone and retreated into the bathroom. He remembered the phone number, having memorized it out of the phone book for some special night. He figured tonight was as good a night as any. Le Café du Pierre was the name, and it served all kinds of unpronounceable cuisine. He made reservations for two at the most secluded and romantic table in the house and changed into his suit. He opened the door to see Angel in what was possibly the most gorgeous dress he had ever seen. It was tight and dark green, and the deep, dark velvet hugged Angel's silhouette perfectly. She spun around and struck a diva pose.

"Do you like it? Mimi helped me make it! And I saved up some money for these." She hiked up the dress a little and stuck a leg out to show off the black silk stockings she was wearing.

"Wow…" was all Collins could croak out. "Maybe we should just stay home..."

"Mister Thomas Collins, get your mind out of the gutter! We're going out to eat whether you like it or not."

As she turned her back to grab her purse, Collins noticed the abundance of buttons on the back. He counted 20 buttons and a strap. "Wow…" he repeated as he subtly shoved a couple of candles into his pocket to light at the restaurant.

"You coming, baby?" Angel called from the door. He had spaced out thinking about that dress.

"Yeah..." he answered, and with that, they were out the door and headed for the restaurant.


	15. Le Café Du Vomi

Disclaimer: I don't own RENT!

* * *

AN: My name is Miranda and I'm writing. I'm writing and my name is Miranda. Anyone who gets that gets a cookie  Oh, and blame Katy for any weird French… No, they're not supposed to be real food names

* * *

It didn't take long to get to the restaurant, but Angel's feet were already aching. It didn't help that she was wearing new, taller (if that was even possible) shoes. As soon as they got in the door, Angel flopped onto the padded bench next to the host's podium. Collins stood in front of the podium, waiting for the host to get off the phone.

"Excuse me," he said as soon as the host had hung up, "I have a reservation for 2 at the back table for Collins."

"Is the other one coming?"

"She's right there." The host grimaced as soon as he saw where Collins was pointing.

"Oh, I didn't know you were… people of _that_ lifestyle."

"And why does it matter?" Angel said indignantly from the bench.

"It doesn't matter," the host lied. "Follow me to the back."

The table in the back was very romantic. It was in front of a booth that seated two people, and it was very secluded from the rest of the tables. The window looked out over a beautiful lake that glistened and reflected the sunset. Collins pulled the candles out of his pocket and held both to the small oil lamp that sat in the middle of the table until they lit, then placed them in the center of the table and sat down.

"You can take this oil lamp," he said to the host, then turned back to Angel, who had sat down beside him. "Well, do you like it?"

"It's wonderful!" Angel wrapped her arms around Collins' neck and drew him in for a long kiss that drew stares from the people eating. They picked up their menus and tried to find something to eat.

"Pantalon de cinq fromages? What the hell is that, Ang?"

"Pants… five… cheese? I don't think I want to know."

"What about escargot? That sounds good…"

"Collins, that's cooked snails."

"Never mind… don't they have hamburgers here?"

"They have foie gras burgers."

"What's foie gras?"

"Goose livers."

"Why is everything here utterly disgusting?"

"Look, they have onion soup, that sounds pretty good."

"Okay, let's get that. Waiter?"

They ordered their food, two onion soups and a large salad for them to share, as well as a bottle of wine, then sat back in their seats, gazing at the lake. Angel leaned her head over on Collins' shoulder. "It's so beautiful, Tom…"

"I know of something hundreds of times more beautiful."

"And what is that?" Angel already knew what his answer was, but she loved when he said it.

"You, of course." He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss, but was interrupted by the waiter.

"Excuse me, monsieurs, but I must ask you to refrain from public displays of affection. I am afraid it may offend our other customers."

"But those two at the other table are practically eating each other's faces!" Angel all but shouted.

"I am afraid, monsieur, that that is different."

"Who are you calling 'monsieur?'" Angel was straining against her urge to jump up and throttle the waiter.

"Y-y-you, monsieur…"

Angel grabbed her bag. "Collins, we are leaving."

"But, Angel, I…"

"We never got our food, so we shouldn't have to pay. Isn't that right, 'monsieur?'" She shot the waiter a death glare.

"Y-y-yes, of course, mons – madame."

"Come on, honey, let's go. I'd rather eat food out of a carton at home while sitting on you than eat this over-priced crap sitting in some stupid booth." Collins grabbed her hand, and, for good measure, gave her a long, hard kiss as he flipped off everyone in the restaurant. They stormed out, leaving the restaurant patrons and staff in a shocked silence.

"Ces homosexuels…" the waiter sighed.

* * *

On the way home, Angel spotted a Chinese take-out place. "Come on, we haven't eaten, let's get some nice food-in-a-carton."

They looked rather out of place wearing a gown and a suit in a take-out restaurant, but they didn't attract any complaints, even when they decided to occupy their time by finding out how long they could keep kissing without stopping to breathe. Eventually their food was ready, and they made their way back home, where they feasted upon orange chicken and fried rice with Angel perched on Collins' lap.

"So," Collins said, "Does this beat eating over-priced crap in a booth?"

"Definitely." Angel replied as she leaned down to kiss him.

"So, do I get that reward now?"

"Hmm…" Angel paused to think.

"Tease," Collins muttered.

"Okay, I guess…"

* * *

And I'll leave the rest up to your dirty imaginations x3 


	16. Coy Little Seamstress

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent, the James Bond characters mentioned, or Crazy Glue

* * *

AN: I'm actually starting to write this in the morning before rehearsal :3 Sorry I didn't update this much, but I've been working on Fine Cuisine with Katy. It's gonna be fun, so read it! Anyway, it's New Year's Eve in the world of Angel and Collins, so you know what that means! Oh, and sorry that the format's screwy, but FF is being special, so I had to upload a .txt file and copy-n-paste the stuff and then it got all weird

* * *

A shrill ring dragged Collins from his comfortable spot nestled in the bedsheets with Angel to the telephone, which he picked up promptly and yawned into. "Whaddyawant?" he mumbled rather groggily. 

A loud and excited Maureen was on the other line, and her voice was so loud today that Angel, who had been woken up by Collins getting out of bed, could practically hear her. To avoid serious ear damage, Collins put her on speaker phone so he wouldn't have to have her screaming in his ear to talk to her. "Angel, Collins, guess what?"

"What?" the two answered from their seat on the end of the bed.

"Weee're having a New Year's party! And you're both invited! Mark says it's 'New Year's Rocking Eve: the Breaking-Back-Into-the-Building Party.' He gives things weird titles like that, you know, always did. Anyway, show up outside the loft around 11:55 and dress for a break-in, however you do that… I'm gonna be a cat burglar! Awesome, right? …Right?"

"Yeah, Maureen," Collins replied. "I just thought that was rhetorical."

"Who said anything about rutabagas? Anyway, it'll be fuuuuun! And maybe I can get pookie to come… if she's still speaking to me. Toodles!"

After Maureen hung up, Angel and Collins both sighed in happiness, now that their ears weren't being bombarded anymore. "Hey, Collins?"

"Yeah, Ang?"

"We should tell Maureen that telephones still pick up your voice if you don't yell."

"Yeah… it's never worked, though…"

"Well, anyway, what should we wear? I think we have enough time to pull some outfits together if we walk to the thrift store right away."

"Angel, it doesn't take 12 hours to get an outfit…"

"It does for me! Haven't you learned that yet?"

"Well, I've never gone shopping with you…"

"Really? Well, you're in for something interesting… let's go!"

* * *

A lot of long walks and what seemed like hundreds of outfits later, Angel finally found what she needed: two clear shower curtains, some old newspapers that a generous newsstand manager gave her, a pair of sunglasses, and white gogo boots. For Collins she found a dressy jacket and some sleek sunglasses; she wanted him to wear a full suit, but he refused, talking about how suits were opressive and some other stuff that Angel didn't understand.

"So, all these stores and the only actual clothes you needed were sunglasses and shoes? We're actually done now?"

"No no no, we're far from done."

"Huh?"

"What did you think I needed this stuff," she held up the curtains and newspapers, "For?"

"Well, I really didn't know…"

"You'll find out!"

* * *

"Ow, Collins, stop poking me!" Collins had been recruited to pin the sides of Angel's new newspaper-and-shower-curtain dress so they would fit tightly and she would know where to sew, but he seemed to be having trouble.

"I've never done this before!"

"It's not that hard!"

"Tell that to my fingers; they keep shaking!"

"Can't you try to steady them?"

"Well, I think I'm done, anyway… sorry if it's bad…"

Angel looked down, and grinned. "Collins, you got it perfectly! I guess the constant stabbing was just the price I had to pay. Now let's teach you how to use the sewing machine!"

* * *

Finally, after almost sewing his hand to Angel's dress a few times, Collins was done. "Good job, my coy little seamstress!" Angel said, patting him on the head. "And just on time… 11:30! Now, let's get dressed and go!"

Collins couldn't believe it had taken him that long to make her dress. It was going to be worth it, though; he loved seeing the delighted look on Angel's face when he was finished.

* * *

At 11:50, Angel was all dolled up in her plastic-and-newspaper dress and her new white gogo boots, with a curly blonde wig and a pair of sunglasses on top of her head. She also had a purple blowtorch slung around her like a purse. Collins had the jacket and sunglasses Angel had bought him on over his normal clothes, and carried the bottle of vodka that Collins had insisted on bringing, even though Angel had insisted that the proper new year's drink was bad champagne.

They were near the loft when suddenly, Angel slipped on a patch of snow and fell to the ground. She was relatively unharmed, but let out a shriek, anyway. "Collins, my shoe broke! The heel came off!" Collins picked it up, marveling at how big it was, and slipped it in his pocket

"Come on, Ang, we'll get some glue at the store." Angel managed to hop a short distance before Collins scooped her up. "We gotta hurry, so I'll just carry you there." Angel wrapped her arms around his neck, remembering how he had carried her home on that night when they had first met and she was completely drunk. They quickly purchased a bottle of Crazy Glue and used it to glue the heel back on, then set off for the party.

* * *

Will continue soon! 


	17. It's Gonna Be a Happy New Year

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent or the James Bond characters mentioned

* * *

AN: Hiiiii! This is the third chapter I've written tonight, although the first two were for my new fic, Come Sing About Love, which is a fic made up of songfics, and it's MarkRoger, so go read it! Roger is hi-frickin-larious in it, or at least Katy thinks so x3 Anyway, yeah, I figured that rather than writing a third chapter of that I'd write a chapter of this, since I kinda left you guys hanging. Enjoy! Oh, and I've eaten 7 pieces of chocolate, although it's more like 14, cause they're really long rectangles about twice –or maybe thrice- the size of a normal piece… so I'm kinda whoooeeeooooeeeooo... If you've never listened to the OBC or seen the show and you're like, "WTF why is the conversation rhyming?" you need to remember that there are songs that weren't in the movie. -.-

* * *

Angel and Collins could hear Roger talking to Mimi when they walked up the sidewalk. "But now it just may be a happy new year!" Roger said. Angel was happy that Mimi and Roger appeared to be happy; they had been since Christmas Eve. Roger must have gotten over his annoying anti-social-ness. 

When Roger and Mimi noticed them, Angel struck a pose. "Bond, James Bond." Collins announced in his deep voice.

"And Pussy Galore, in person!" Angel giggled like a little schoolgirl, holding up her blowtorch. Mimi grinned when she saw it.

"Pussy, you came prepared!"

"I was a boy scout once! And a Brownie, 'til some brat got scared…" The girl-scout incident was a little painful for Angel. She had known that she was meant to be a girl for a long time, so her abuela had signed her up for Brownie scouts. The adults had tried to be tolerant, and the kids hadn't noticed, but one day a little girl heard an adult refer to Angel as a he and freaked out. That was the end of that, and she was transferred straight into boy-scouts, which she quit soon afterwards. Collins turned to Mimi.

"Ah, Moneypenny, my martini!"

"Will bad champagne do?"

"That's shaken, not stirred." Roger couldn't do James Bond, but it was pretty funny. It got a half-giggle, like an A for effort.

"Pussy, the bolts."

"Just say the word!" Now was the fun part. Angel had never worked a blow torch, but the metal was melting. She just had to keep it going so they wouldn't solidify again.

"Two minutes left to execute our plan!" Mimi said when she looked at Roger's watch.

"Where's everyone else?" Collins asked. He had figured they were late, but Mark and Joanne weren't the type, and Maureen had seemed so excited over the phone.

"Playing Spiderman," Roger answered. Angel and Collins wondered when they'd be back down here.

About two minutes later, it was almost time. Roger signaled to them when his watch hit 55 seconds, and they all chanted together, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" And a few added in "Open sesame!" when the door fell down. Collins wrapped his arms around Angel and gave her the first kiss of the year as everyone else turned to face Benny, who had just walked up from down the street. They broke their kiss to stare at him.

"I see that you've beaten me to the punch," Benny said, too brightly for the circumstances.

"How'd you know we'd be here?" Roger said, defensively.

"I had a hunch." Benny didn't seem to be as mad as they had expected.

"You're… not mad?" Mark was obviously confused too.

"I'm here to end this war. It's a shame you went and destroyed the door," Benny said, eyeing the now useless door lying in the snow, its bolts completely melted off.

"Why all the sudden the big about-face?" Mimi asked, glaring at him. Benny laid a hand on her shoulder.

"The credit is yours. You made a good case."

"What case?" Roger tore Benny's hand off Mimi's shoulder and pulled her closer, holding her around her waist.

"Mimi came to see me and she had much to say," Benny replied.

"That's not how you put it at all yesterday!" Mimi shouted, moving closer to Roger.

Benny backed off. "I couldn't stop thinking about the whole mess. Mark, you'll want to get this on film."

"I guess," Mark muttered. He held up his camera, even though we could see that it wasn't really working, since he didn't bother to aim. He obviously wanted to just get this over with, and didn't care about filming.

Benny's voice changed once the camera was lifted, as did his face. He suddenly became the picture of generosity, a dazzling smile flashed at the camera. "I regret the unlucky circumstances of the past seven days," he began, using 9 more words than he really needed.

"Circumstance?" Roger cut in. "You padlocked our door!" Benny kept his smile, but his eyes looked lie they were about to shoot lasers at Roger.

He continued, "And it's with great pleasure on behalf of CyberArts that I hand you this key." He presented a document with a grand flourish, and Angel just as grandly signaled for applause, which turned out to be a slow, pathetic clapping, but then he noticed that Mark had lowered his camera. He gestured to put it back up and film him.

"I had no juice in my battery," Mark explained.

"Reshoot!" Benny yelled.

"Oh, I see," Roger said, "This is a photo opportunity."

Maureen mimicked a newscaster. "The benevolent god ushers the poor artists back to their flat. Were you planning on taking down the barbed wire, too?"

Roger gasped melodramatically. "_Anything_ but _that!"_

"Clearing the lot was a safetly concern," Benny replied defensively. "We break ground this month, but you can return."

"That's why you're here with people you hate," Maureen yelled. "Instead of with _Muffy_ at _Muffy_'s estate!"

"I'd honestly rather be with you tonight than in Westport," Benny said, walking towards the group of friends. Roger pushed him away.

"Spare us, old sport, the soundbite!"

Obviously, this tactic wasn't working, so Benny went on the offensive. "Mimi," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Since your ways are so seductive, I'd persuade him not to be so counterproductive."

Roger pulled her away, holding her close. "Liar!" he shouted over her head.

"Why not tell him what you wore to my place?"

Mimi turned her head to yell, "I was on my way to work!"

"Black leather and lace!" Benny exclaimed. "My desk was a _mess_, and I think I'm still sore!"

Mimi broke from Roger's embrace and pushed Benny away. "Cause I kicked him and I told him I wasn't his whore!" she yelled to the rest.

Benny walked back over to her and grabbed her shoulder, glaring at Roger. "Well, does your boyfriend know who your last boyfriend was?" He smiled when Roger backed away even more and crossed his arms.

"I'm not her boyfriend," he shouted at the two, "I don't care what she does!"

The damage done, Mimi sank away from both Benny and Roger, and Angel rushed to comfort her. Glaring back at everyone else, especially Benny and Roger, she said, "People, is this any way to start a new year?" She walked to Benny. "Have compassion, Benny just lost his cat."

Benny looked over at her. "It was my _dog_, but I appreciate that."

"My cat had a fall, and I went through hell," Angel said softly.

"It's like losing a – how did you know she fell?" Benny backed away, and as Angel floundered for a response, Collins held up the bottle of champagne.

"Champagne?" he asked.

"Don't mind if I do," Benny replied as he poured himself a glass. "To dogs," he toasted.

"No, Benny, to you." Mark replied as Benny headed back towards his car. He drove away, and immediately the atmosphere loosened, but not between Roger and Mimi, who wouldn't look at each other. Angel put an arm around Mimi's shoulders and Collins put an arm around Roger's, and they turned them to face each other.

"Let's make a resolution!" Angel said, giving Mimi a glass of champagne.

"I'll drink to that," Mimi said, and swallowed it down.

"Let's always stay friends," Collins said, pushing Roger a bit towards Mimi.

"Though we may have our disputes," Joanne said, and Maureen continued.

"This family tree's got deep roots!"

Mark helped Collins push Roger towards Mimi. "Friendship is thicker than blood!" he said to his friend, who crossed his arms and refused to budge.

"That depends," he said towards Mimi.

Mimi put her hands on her hips and said, "Depends on _trust!_"

"Depends on true devotion!" Roger tried to back away, but Collins and Mark gave him another push forward.

Joanne turned to Maureen, who appeared to be eyeing a busty partier across the street, and grabbed her hand, saying "Depends on love!"

Mark gave Roger a last push towards Mimi. "Depends on not denying emotion!"

"Perhaps," Roger said, and he and Mimi turned away, but they were pushed back towards each other as their friends shouted at them,

"It's gonna be a happy new year!"

"I guess," he said again, and the same thing happened, but finally he looked at Mimi and pulled her into an embrace, saying, "All right."

Angel put an arm around each of them, smiling, and said, "It's gonna be a happy new year!" She, Collins, Maureen, and Joanne headed into the loft to celebrate, leaving Roger and Mimi alone. Roger came in a moment later, and Mimi after about a minute, and they partied all night, until 6 am, when they all gradually drifted off, Angel warm and cozy in Collins' arms on the couch.


End file.
